PRECIOUS-Gold eases a touch, remains near $1,105

                                
 TOKYO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Gold prices softened a touch but
still hovered near $1,105 per ounce on Tuesday after posting
their biggest daily gain in three months in the previous session
boosted by an oil rally, dollar weakness and strong U.S. data.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> inched down 0.1 percent to $1,104.30 per
ounce at 2354 GMT compared to New York's notional close of
$1,105.30.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> were steady at
$1,105.60 an ounce on the COMEX division of NYMEX.
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,111.922 tonnes as
of Feb. 1, unchanged from the previous business day. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 * The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its silver holdings stood at
9,355.98 tonnes as of Feb. 1, down 0.3 percent from the previous
business day. [ID:TOE6100AF]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * The dollar steadied on Tuesday after falling away from
six-month highs on a basket of currencies, while the Australian
dollar retained broad gains ahead of a widely expected interest
rate hike later in the day. [USD/]
                                
 * U.S. stocks rose on Monday as better-than-expected data on
the manufacturing sector and earnings from Exxon Mobil revived
bullish sentiment after stocks closed out their worst month in
almost a year. [.N]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Tuesday: <ECON>
                                
 - Australia c.bank interest rate announcement      (0330 GMT)
                                
 - Switzerland consumer confidence, Q1              (0645 GMT)
                                
 - Germany retail sales, Dec                        (0700 GMT)
                                
 - UK Jan construction PMI                          (0930 GMT)
                                
 - Euro zone PPI, Dec                               (1000 GMT)
                                
 - ICSC/Goldman Sachs weekly U.S. chain store sales (1245 GMT)
                                
 - Redbook weekly U.S. retail sales                 (1355 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. pending home sales for Dec                  (1500 GMT)
                                
 - ABC U.S. weekly consumer comfort index           (2200 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. auto sales for January                           (N/A)
                                
 RELATED NEWS
 > Gold posts biggest daily gains since Nov           [GOL/]
 > Oil, metals start Feb higher after Jan losses  [COM/WRAP]
 > China's 2009 gold output rises 11 percent [ID:nLDE60T0D3]
 > U.S. manufacturing grows in Jan; spending up a touch
                                
                                          [ID:nN01209725]
                                
 PRICES
                                
 Precious metals prices at 2350 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg    2 day chg  MA 30  RSI
 Spot gold    $1104.45   -$0.85  -0.08%    -4.62%   $1111.33  53
 Spot silver    $16.60   -$0.04  -0.24%    -8.69%     $17.54  38
 Spot plat    $1546.00   -$2.50  -0.16%    +3.07%   $1532.79  52
 COMEX gold   $1105.00   -$1.80  -0.16%    +2.00%   $1113.21  50
 TOCOM gold      3,160       20  +0.64%    -0.28%      3,273
 TOCOM plat      4,405       31  +0.71%    +0.00%      4,520
 Currencies
 Euro/dlr       $1.392   $0.000  -0.03%    +0.48%
 Dlr/yen         90.76     0.14  +0.15%    +0.96%
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa)